Level 3A Cicero and Pliny Thoughts about religion! Instructor: Anne Richardson Welcome to the
2014 LATIN SUMMER SCHOOL 1
In this course we will be reading ORIGINAL WORKS from Cicero and Pliny as they share their thoughts on religion so that we can learn something about the writers themselves, become aware of their thoughts about Roman values and appreciate the times in which they lived. ’50 letters of Pliny – A.N. Sherwin- White (Oxford university Press 1969) Cicero text- Internet- de Natura deorum- Loeb
Day 1 The Gods
General introduction about the Romans and their religious beliefs
Cicero
de Natura deorum
Day 2 Cicero
de Natura deorum
Day 3 Pliny
letter to Trajan about the Christians
Day 4
letter about the Christians ( continued)
Pliny
Day 5
Which author wrote which passage? You will be given two Latin extracts with vocabulary to translate into English. You will work with another person. At the end of the session you and your partner will be asked to provide some of the translation and to comment on the style etc of each passage and support your choice of author with evidence from the passage.
2
CICERO- de Natura deorum DAY 1
Sunt enim philosophi et fuerunt
qui omnino nullam habere censerent
rerum humanarum procurationem deos.
quorum si vera sententia est
quae potest esse pietas
quae sanctitas quae religio?
haec enim omnia pure atque caste tribuenda deorum numini ita sunt.
si animadvertuntur ab is et si est aliquid a deis inmortalibus hominum generi tributum;
3
DAY 2
CICERO
de Natura Deorum
sin autem dei neque possunt nos iuvare nec volunt nec omnino curant nec quid
agamus animadvertunt nec est quod ab is ad hominum vitam permanare possit,
quid est quod ullos deis immortalibus cultus honores preces adhibeamus?
in specie autem fictae simulationis sicut reliquae virtutes item pietas inesse non potest;
cum qua simul sanctitatem et religionem tolli necesse est,
quibus sublatis perturbatio vitae sequitur et magna confusio;
4
PLINY
letters
DAY 3
Sollemne est mihi, domine, omnia de quibus dubito ad te referre
Quis enim potest melius vel cunctationem meam regere vel ignorantiam instruere?
Cognitionibus de Christianis interfui numquam;
ideo nescio quid et quatenus aut puniri soleat aut quaeri
Nec mediocriter haesitavi, sitne aliquod discrimen aetatum, an quamlibet teneri nihil a robustioribus differant
detur paenitentiae venia, an ei, qui omnino Christianus fuit, desisse non prosit; nomen ipsum, si flagitiis careat, an flagitia cohaerentia nomini puniantur.
5
PLINY
Letters
DAY 4 Interim, iis qui ad me tamquam Christiani deferebantur, hunc sum secutus modum.
Interrogavi ipsos an essent Christiani.
Confitentes iterum ac tertio interrogavi supplicium minatus; perseverantes duci jussi
Neque enim dubitabam, qualecumque esset quod faterentur.
pertinaciam certe et inflexibilem obstinationem debere puniri.
Atque hunc quidem unum huius belli domestici ducem sine controversia vicimus.
Fuerunt alii similis amentiae, quos, quia cives Romani erant, adnotavi in urbem remittendos.
6
DAY 5 You will be given a page which has two short Latin extracts written by each of the authors studied. You will also be given vocabulary and specific time to translate each passage. Your task will be to Translate both passages into English to determine which of the two authors studied in the past four days has written each extract. Also, you need to be able to support your decision with comments on stylistic features/ elements of content which you identified in the texts you have read over the last four days. A certain amount of time will be allotted for you to do this. It is therefore essential that you take notes during the first four days of any features of Cicero, and Pliny which are unique.
These five days were intended to allow you to look into the minds of two fascinating Roman writers and through reading their works to learn something also about Roman gods and beliefs. 7